The new software update also adds a driving mode that can be automatically set to respond to calls and incoming texts with a preset message. (Microsoft had developed Driving Mode as part of its planning for Windows Phone 8, but the feature ended up getting cut before the software was released.) Other features in this update include the ability to lock screen rotation, manually close apps and more easily manage storage.

It’s the third update for Windows Phone 8 since it was released a year ago.

The updates have all been fairly minor in terms of the features made available to customers, but Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president and manager for Windows Phone program management, said they have been critical in allowing Microsoft and its partners to go after new countries and new market segments.

“The work we are doing is valuable, and a lot of people aren’t aware of it,” Belfiore said.

As for when a more substantive update is coming, Belfiore declined to say, though he acknowledged that the company is working on the next major release of Windows Phone.

I think the NSA has a job to do and we need the NSA. But as (physicist) Robert Oppenheimer said, “When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you’ve had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”

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